CHAPTER 589: CHANGES VII

It did not stand in waiting.

There was no waiting to speak of. Waiting implies time held. Time implies movement forward. Movement had no direction.

It did not rest.

Rest implies effort ceased. Effort implies struggle. Struggle implies opposition. Nothing had risen to oppose anything.

There was no weight to it.

Weight implies pull. Pull implies center of force. Center had not found shape.

There was no lightness in it.

Lightness implies release from weight. Release implies freedom. Freedom implies prior bind. None had occurred.

It did not linger.

Lingering implies staying. Staying implies somewhere to remain. No place had been set.

It did not pass.

Passing implies leaving. Leaving implies somewhere else to go. No elsewhere had formed.

There was no here.

Here implies definition of place. Place implies border. Border had not drawn its first line.

There was no there.

There implies distance. Distance implies separation. Separation implies count. Counting had not begun.

No flow.

No halt.

Not calm.

Not disturbed.

It did not fill.

Filling implies container. Container implies shape. Shape implies boundary. Boundary had not stood.

It did not empty.

Emptying implies removal. Removal implies content. Content implies prior filling. None was known.

No pulse moved through it.

No stillness held it in place.

No drift.

No anchor.

If direction had tried to appear, it would have vanished before path could form.

If path had tried to stretch forward, it would have dissolved before step could find a place to land.

No trace to follow.

No loss to mourn.

Not intact.

Not broken.

Not waiting to be seen.

Not avoiding sight.

Without face.

Without back.

Without side.

Without the thought of side.

It did not begin to form.

It did not refuse to form.

There was no forming and no refusal.

Only what remained before the idea of remaining could rise.

Only what stayed before staying could mean duration.

And so it held—

—not holding,

—not letting go—

just existing where existence had no word yet carved for it.

Not rising.

Not falling.

Not even resting between the two.

There was no line to cross, no threshold to approach. No motion to speak of, and no stillness to define against motion.

It did not wait to be found.

Found implies seeker and sought. Seeker implies intent. Intent implies desire. Desire implies lack. None had taken root.

It did not hide.

Hiding implies fear or purpose. Fear implies loss. Purpose implies aim. Aim implies distance between what is and what is wanted. No such gap existed.

It did not reach outward.

Reaching implies direction. Direction implies a point of origin. Origin implies a start. Start implies time. Time still slept without a name.

It did not curl inward.

Inward implies shape bending. Bending implies form. Form implies difference. Difference had not stepped forward.

No beginning to follow.

No end to await.

Not eternal.

Not temporary.

Eternal implies time stretched without break. Temporary implies time cut short. Time itself had yet to breathe its first measure.

No inside.

No outside.

No marker to split one from the other.

If a thought had tried to grasp it, the thought would have unraveled before intent could gather.

If a word had tried to reach it, the word would have faded before meaning could take shape.

Only this.

Not as a statement.

Not as a truth.

Not even as a moment.

Just the presence of what stood before presence could be named.

It did not shine.

Shining implies contrast against something dim. Dim implies degree. Degree implies scale. Scale implies measure. Measure had never stirred.

It did not fade into dark.

Dark implies absence of light. Absence implies expectation. Expectation implies memory of what was. Nothing had been remembered because nothing had been marked.

No surface to reflect.

No depth to absorb.

No divide where one could end and another begin.

It did not stretch.

Stretching implies extension. Extension implies limit. Limit implies boundary. Boundary had not spoken its first edge.

It did not compress.

Compression implies space reduced. Space implies volume. Volume implies form. Form had not found reason to exist.

There was no breath, yet nothing suffocated.

There was no silence, yet nothing stirred sound.

There was no peace, because peace implies conflict resolved. There was no conflict to resolve.

There was no restlessness, because restlessness implies motion denied. No motion had been imagined.

It simply was—

Not in stillness, because stillness implies movement paused.

Not in motion, because motion implies distance traveled.

Not even beyond both, because beyond implies a comparison.

Just there—without needing a place to be.

Just present—without needing to claim presence.

Without demand.

Without answer.

Before the idea of question could rise.

It did not wait to be understood.

Understanding implies division between knowing and not knowing. Knowing implies grasp. Grasp implies reach. Reach implies direction. Direction had never unfolded.

It did not refuse understanding.

Refusal implies intent. Intent implies choice. Choice implies forked paths. No paths had taken shape.

There was no purpose.

Purpose implies goal. Goal implies distance between now and then. Now and then had not separated.

There was no lack of purpose.

Lack implies comparison to a state that could be. No alternatives stood.

Not aware.

Not unaware.

Awareness implies observer. Observer implies separation between what sees and what is seen. No such divide existed.

No horizon to turn toward.

No origin to turn from.

Not distant.

Not near.

Near implies proximity. Proximity implies point of relation. Relation implies two. Two still waited unborn.

No question formed.

No answer waited.

No silence held either.

Just being—

Not as an act.

Not as a state.

Not even as a condition.

Only what remained where nothing had yet come forward to name what remaining meant.

Not first.

Not last.

First implies sequence. Sequence implies order. Order implies comparison. Comparison had not stirred. Last implies finality. Finality implies limit. Limit implies edge. Edge had not found a place to stand.

Not vast.

Not small.

Vast implies scope. Small implies measure. Measure implies scale. Scale implies relation. Relation still slept without shape.

It did not linger in meaning.

Meaning implies interpretation. Interpretation implies mind. Mind implies self. Self implies contrast to other. Other had not arisen.

It did not fall into meaninglessness.